Floriade 2002 Application
Every ten years the Netherlands host the horticultural show Floriade. Each Floriade lasts 6 months and is organized in cooperation with a different city. The Floriade 2002, near the city of Hoofddorp, featured a 40 meter high observation hill with an impressive work of art at the summit: Big Spotters’ Hill.
During operation from April till October, 25 CyberCabs provided transportation to the top of the observation point. The vehicles used a 700-meter track spiraling up the hill to transport passengers between the two bottom and top stations.
The 1st generation CyberCab vehicles were specifically designed for the application, having an ‘open’ design to allow passengers to fully enjoy the view of the Floriade Park. To further ensure the best possible view the speed of the vehicles was limited to 11 km/h (7 m/h) and drove outside of the track (left hand side) traveling upwards. The electric CyberCabs were supplied with ‘green’ energy, ensuring environmentally friendly transportation.
A round trip to the summit of Big Spotters’ Hill by the CyberCab was offered for 2,5€. The duration of a single trip was just over 4 minutes. The CyberCab system offered a maximum capacity of 600 passengers per hour (per direction). Quick chargers and the exchange of batteries ensured the maximum amount of vehicles to be operational at any time.
2getthere initiated the project to demonstrate the capabilities of automated transportation to the public, test passenger acceptance of the concept and automated transportation in general and gain experience with the operations of these types of systems. The research conducted proved that passenger acceptance of these systems is very good. Both old and young used the system without any reservations. Comments regarding the user friendliness were gathered and have been taken into account in the design of the 2nd generation. The operational experiences are invaluable for 2getthere, adding to the existing knowledge and being better able to provide insight into the operations to potential customers.
Please refer to the research results for information on the passengers opinions.
Floriade 2002 Application summarized:
| Description: | Scenic Connection |
| Operational period: | April - November 2002 (192 days) |
| Patronage: | ± 400.000 passengers |
| Peak Capacity: | 600 p/ph/pd |
| Service Frequency: | 25 seconds |
| Times of Operation: | 12hrs. p/d, 7 days p/w |
| Configuration: | Line-connection |
| Operations: | On-schedule |
| Connections: | Direct (Non-stop) |
| Type of vehicle: | 1st generation CyberCab |
| Fleet Size: | 25 |
| Passengers seated/standing: | 0 / 5 |
| Drive: | Electric |
| Supervisory Control System: | None |
| Track Length: | 700 meters (one-way) |
| Number of Stations: | 2 on-line |
| Berths per station: | 1 |
| Crossings for Traffic/Pedestrians: | 0 / 1 (Elevated) |